Ohio Gov. John Kasich announced Monday that he will accept the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, becoming the fifth Republican governor to embrace the provision of the health care reform law that the Supreme Court made optional.

The governor unveiled the decision as part of his budget proposal.

We are going to extend Medicaid for the working poor and for those who are jobless trying to find work, Kasich said at a press conference in Columbus. It makes great sense for the state of Ohio because it will allow us to provide greater care with our own dollars.

The four other Republican governors to back the Medicaid expansion are Brian Sandoval of Nevada, Susana Martinez of New Mexico, Jack Dalrymple of North Dakota and Jan Brewer of Arizona. About a dozen GOP governors from red states have rejected the expansion; others from mostly blue and purple states have yet to decide. Democratic governors have broadly embraced it.

Its an enticing deal: the expansion would extend Medicaid eligibility to their residents up to roughly 133 percent of the poverty line. The federal government would cover the full cost of the new beneficiaries in the early years and 90 percent after 2020.

The net effect is 270,000 Ohioans coming into the [Medicaid] program, said Greg Moody, the director of Ohios Office of Health Transformation. Over two years the state of Ohio will have saved $235 million as a result of the decision to extend coverage.

Kasichs decision could influence other undecided Republican governors  such as Chris Christie of New Jersey, Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania and Scott Walker of Wisconsin  who are caught between wanting to improve the lives of their constituents and to remain in good standing with the conservative movement,

The political class sell out to Obama Utopian fascism.We will return to being a nation of gardeners. Swift will come the division between the quick who will survive, and the dead, who now follow this insane Obama political pustule.

Other heads of U.S. states otherwise hostile to the Affordable Care Act whore going along or contemplating going along with Medicaid expansion are Nevadas Brian Sandoval, Jack Dalrymple of North Dakota.

Other heads of U.S. states otherwise hostile to the Affordable Care Act whore going along or contemplating going along with Medicaid expansion are Nevadas Brian Sandoval, Jack Dalrymple of North Dakota.

Isn”t funny how all the dirt on this pos law and still we hear cricket noise from the chambers. It is going to bankrupt the people and not a sound from anyone. Like any other bill. They wait to the smoke clears and forget about the law ever taking place.
Why has not on R been talking about this daily? Why are they not keeping it in the light? Not one R has even mentioned it! Every day their is more bad news about Obummer care and still can hear crickets in the halls. Their is enough ammo to get rid of this now and we are to interested in bringing in 20 million illegals into our country to find jobs in the worst economy since the depression. Does any of this make sense?
To think that all these people are that dumb is hard to swallow. Sorry.
We have soldiers practicing arm conflicts in our cities and we find this exceptable. Maybe its me but, I wish it would start because we as a country are slowly boiling in that pot with the frog!
Regards, J

I think there's an important aspect that the article omitted. As I understand it, Kasich can back out if the feds renege on funding. What this does is allow some who make too little income to qualify for a private insurance subsidy enroll in some form of coverage that is largely funded by the feds not the state.

While I don't like this, I do see a couple of advantages. First, it will keep the Dems from holding up the working poor as remaining uninsured due to Kasich. Second, it will help those who are trying to earn a living but can't afford insurance to get some coverage. Some of these are the very people Obamacare was supposed to help in the first place. Unfortunately what they get is a program we already know is a failure and not private insurance.

I don't think it's a done deal yet. I believe it requires approval from Ohio lawmakers.

The federal government would cover the full cost of the new beneficiaries in the early years and 90 percent after 2020...yeah, and wait until that seed money gradually dries up in the next few years - like it did back in the seventies when it was promised to fund outpatient mental health clinics all over the country - see all those mental patients sleeping under bridges?......

Apparently “federal money” just comes from no where, and spending ever-greater amounts of it has no effect on state economies.

You guys and gals realized what massive liars nearly all Republicans are, right? Kasich only cares about reelection, and he saw his state swing dramatically for Obama. Tell me again why you’d ever vote Republican again? Tell me again how I’m “defeatist” for refusing to patronize a big-government party like the GOP?

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.